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HE  new  building  of  the  State  Historical  So- 
ciety of  Wisconsin,  at  Madison,  is  one  of  the 
most  artistic,  well  built,  well  arranged,  and 
conveniently  equipped  library  structures  in 
the  United  States.  Its  cost,  fully  equipped 
and  furnished,  was  about  $600,000  ; but  con- 
tracts were  awarded  at  a time  (1896)  when 
prices  were  at  their  ebb  — the  building  would 
now  (1901)  probably  cost  a million. 

The  statutes  providing  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  building  permitted  the  Society  to 
invite  thereto  such  other  State  - supported 
libraries'as  it  deemed  proper.  From  the  first 
it  was  well  understood  that  the  library  of  the 
University  was  also  to  be  housed  beneath 
the  same  roof.  Ample  provisions  were  there- 
fore made  for  the  latter,  and  to  this  fact  the 
plans  owe  their  somewhat  peculiar  arrange- 
ment. The  attempt  has  been  made,  and  we 
believe  successfully,  to  provide  for  two  dis- 
tinct libraries,  separately  administered,  but 
using  the  reading  and  consultation  rooms  in 


common.  By  joint  agreement  the  Histori- 
cal Society  retains  the  general  administration  of  the  entire 
building,  such  as  heating,  lighting,  cleaning,  repairing,  polic- 
ing, and  the  special  custody  of  all  rooms  to  which  the  public 
are  admitted;  but  the  University  controls  the  aclual  daily  use 


0~L  T 22. 


of  its  own  offices,  seminary  rooms,  storage  rooms,  and  the  space 
assigned  to  it  in  the  south-west  book-stack  wing.  When  the 
north-west  book-stack  wing  is  constructed  the  University  libra- 
» ry  will  be  transferred  thereto.  This  wing  will  be  in  direCt  con- 

nection with  the  administrative  rooms  of  that  library. 

There  are  entrances  upon  all  four  fagades.  The  principal 
fagade  is  on  the  east,  facing  the  “ lower  campus  ” of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  the  city.  The  best  and  most  familiar  views  of  the 
structure  are  from  the  south-east  on  State  Street,  and  the  north- 
east on  Langdon  Street,  but  these  fail  to  give  an  adequate  con- 
ception of  its  depth  from  east  to  west.  The  situation  is  com- 
manding. As  the  ground  slopes  upward  to  the  west  (rear)  a 
balconied  terrace  is  rendered  necessary  on  the  east,  north  and 
south  sides.  The  outlook  from  the  general  reading  room  is  an 
interesting  roof-view  of  the  neighborhood,  with  pretty  glimpses 
of  Lake  Mendota,  dissedled  by  the  University  gymnasium  and 
neighboring  residences  ; from  the  roof  there  is  visible  a wide 
sweep  of  land  and  water. 

The  building,  designed  by  Ferry  & Clas,  architects,  of 
Milwaukee,  is  constructed  of  buff  Bedford  limestone,  from  Bed- 
ford, Ind.  The  architecture  is  of  the  Ionic  order,  in  the  renais- 
sance style,  and  in  some  points  resembles,  although  less  elabo- 
rate than,  the  Milwaukee  Public  Library  and  Museum  building 
by  the  same  architects.  While  the  exterior  of  the  structure  is 
distinctly  the  work  of  the  architects  the  interior  arrangement 
— as  is  proper,  for  this  is  a librarians’  workshop  — is  in  all  es- 


A STACK  ROOM 


sential  particulars  the  plan  of  those  who  are  to  occupy  it. 
Their  wishes  — based  on  experience,  on  the  peculiar  needs  of 
the  Historical  and  University  libraries,  and  on  wide  observa- 
tion and  study  of  other  great  reference  and  college  libraries  in 
this  country  and  abroad  — have  been  faithfully  observed  by  the 
architects,  and  it  is  believed  that  the  building  is  as  nearly  per- 
fect, from  a librarian’s  point  of  view,  as  is  possible  under  the 
circumstances. 

The  building  is  heated  by  steam  conveyed  in  a tunnel 
leading  from  the  neighboring  central  power  plant  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  is  furnished  throughout  with  pneumatic  heat  reg- 
ulators. It  is  lighted  solely  by  electricity,  obtained  from  the 


local  city  plant.  Drinking  water  is  furnished  from  the  city 
system  of  artesian  wells;  water  for  cleaning  comes  from  the 
University  pumping  station. 

In  the  basement,  besides  the  fans  and  heating  and  plumb- 
ing machinery,  are  located  unpacking,  duplicate,  and  storage 
rooms,  toilet  and  dressing  rooms  for  the  janitorial  staff,  bicycle 
rooms  for  readers,  and  the  bulk  of  the  large  colledlion  of  bound 
newspaper  files  for  which  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Library  is 
famous;  these  are  placed  on  steel  shelves  furnished  by  the  Art 
Metal  Construction  Co.,  of  Jamestown,  N.  Y. 

Upon  the  first  (or  main  entrance)  floor  are  public  toilet  and 
cloak  rooms,  and  the  departmental  libraries  devoted  to  maps 
and  manuscripts  and  public  documents  ; there  is  also  here  lo- 
cated the  public  consultation  room  for  newspaper  files,  the  17th 
and  1 8th  century  files  being  in  this  room  upon  steel  shelves  of 
the  “ Standard  ” pattern.  Upon  the  same  floor  the  University 
School  of  History,  and  School  of  Economics  and  Political  Sci- 
ence have  their  headquarters,  together  with  seminaries  for  the 
departments  of  Mathematics  and  Commerce. 

Upon  the  second  floor  the  offices  of  the  State  Historical 
Society  are  ranged  along  the  south  side,  and  those  of  the  Uni- 
versity Library  upon  the  north  ; between  is  the  principal  feat- 
ure of  the  building  — the  great  reading  room  and  its  annex,  the 
“ Poole  periodicals  ” room.  The  reading  room,  fitted  with  solid 
mahogany  furniture,  seats  240  readers  ; the  “ Poole  room,”  as 
the  students  facetiously  term  it,  is  fitted  with  a double-storied 


MAIN  READING  ROOM 


“ Standard  ” all-steel  stack.  Connected  with  the  reading  room 
are  the  delivery  desks  and  the  public  card  catalogue;  immedi- 
ately over  these  is  the  visitors’  gallery,  to  which  alone  the  non- 
reading public  is  admitted.  The  reading  room,  upon  the  walls 
of  which  are  5,000  selected  reference  books,  communicates  with 
the  impressive  loggia  extending  along  the  front  of  the  build- 
ing. 

Upon  the  third  floor  there  are,  upon  the  south  side,  a lec- 
ture hall,  convenient  toilet  rooms,  a staff  room,  and  a study  for 
the  superintendent ; on  the  north  side  are  seminary  rooms  for 
the  University,  devoted  to  German,  Greek  and  Latin,  French, 
English,  and  Philosophy  and  Education.  Between  are  the 
visitors’  balcony  above  mentioned  and  study  rooms. for  visitors. 
In  each  of  the  seminary  rooms  there  is  a special  library,  and 
upon  the  visitors’  balcony  is  the  State  Historical  Society’s  de- 
partmental library  of  Genealogy  and  Art. 

The  fourth  floor  is  devoted  to  the  Society’s  museum  and 
portrait  gallery,  with  a well-appointed  photographic  dark  room, 
public  toilet  rooms,  janitors’  room,  etc. 

When  the  building  is  completed,  there  will,  as  above  in- 
timated, be  two  book-stack  wings  ; at  present  only  the  south- 
west wing  has  been  constructed.  There  are  six  stories  of  the 
stack,  each  about  7 feet  4 inches  high,  fitted  with  steel  book 
shelves  of  the  “ Standard  ” pattern,  furnished  by  the  Art  Metal 
Construction  Company.  In  addition  to  an  eledtric  service  ele- 
vator and  an  electric  book-lift,  a continuous  stairway  connects 


NEWSPAPER  ROOM 


the  several  floors.  Upon  each  floor  of  the  stack  are  desks  and 
tables  for  the  use  of  those  specialists  and  advanced  students 
who  have  received  permission  to  go  to  the  shelves  ; alternate 
cases  are  shortened  to  make  room  for  small  study  desks.  Each 
floor  of  the  stack  will  shelve  40,000  volumes — thus  the  stack 
wing  now  completed  has  a capacity  of  240,000.  Adding  the 
books  in  the  reading  room,  the  periodical  room,  the  several  de- 
partmental libraries,  the  newspaper  stack  in  the  basement,  the 
libraries  of  the  University  seminaries,  and  the  proposed  north- 
west stack  wing,  as  yet  unbuilt,  the  normal  capacity  of  the 
building  will  ultimately  be  about  685,000  volumes. 


ANOTHER  OF  THE  SIX  STACK  ROOMS 


POOLE’’  READING  ROOM 


